Reunion
by MarauderGirl777
Summary: GaaraxSakura. Minor NejixSakura. It's been two years since the fall of Suna, and the memories of his face still remain in her head. ...But what would happen if he came back? M just in case. Sequel to "The Sands of Time." Might wanna read that first.
1. Prologue

Prologue

She opened her eyes blearily, and found herself cuddled into something warm. She mumbled something, and shifted slightly. The person behind her grumbled, arm wrapped securely around her waist, face buried in her neck. She smelled the faint scent of cologne, and smiled a bit.

"Sakura," he mumbled into her neck, pulling her closer.

"Mm," she grunted in reply, closing her eyes again. One petite hand covered his, which rested on her bare, flat stomach. His fingers lightly rubbed the smooth skin, making her giggle.

"I love the way you giggle," he murmured, kissing her neck lightly.

"I didn't know you were awake," she replied, turning her head to look at his form, resting behind hers.

"Sleepy, but awake," he purred, planting small kisses from her neck, down her shoulder. Feeling a strand of his long hair brushing her shoulder, she grabbed at it with her fingers. Gently she picked at it, wrapping it around her finger and releasing it, and wrapping it around her finger again.

"Mm," he grunted, before sitting up. He leaned down a bit, staring at her. She popped open one eye to peer at him.

"What? Something on my face?" she asked, pink hair splayed out over the pillow.

"No, you're absolutely beautiful," he murmured, gazing down at her. She stared back up at him, looking into his pale eyes.

"Do you really think so, Neji..?" she asked, biting her lip. Her hand slowly went up to his cheek, touching it.

"Of course. I tell you every day, don't I?" he chuckled smoothly, leaning down a bit.

"Well, I suppose you're right." she giggled a bit, pulling his face closer gently.

He leaned down, and kissed her on the lips. She put her other hand to his other cheek, holding his face gently as she closed her eyes.

He pulled away slowly, eyes drifting open. "Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to say good morning.."

She smiled up at him, before saying, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Sakura." he smiled a bit before kissing her nose and getting out of the bed. He groaned as he stretched, back cracking in several places. She watched, interested, his perfect body displayed shamelessly. He was in a pair of pants, of course, but Sakura wouldn't have minded if he'd decided to take them off.

That wasn't the case, of course, and he soon pulled a shirt on, yawning. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes rather childishly. Neji watched her intently, smiling after she let out a cute yawn.

"That was adorable," he said, before approaching the bed. She leaned back as he loomed over her, beginning to crawl over top of her. She looked up at him, giggling a bit.

He nuzzled his cheek against hers, kissing her cheek. His hands held him up on either side of her head, as he stared down at her. His hair hung down, veiling them from the world. Sakura reached up, grabbing his face and pulling it down. After planting a hot kiss to his lips, she gazed up at him, saying, "You've changed so much.."

He looked at her, lavender eyes curious. "..How so?"

"You're just... I don't know how to explain it," she whispered, thumbs rubbing his cheeks gently. "...You're so gentle.. You're just... different."

Neji smiled lightly, leaning down a bit more, closer. "Is that a good thing?"

"Very good thing," Sakura murmured, before pressing her lips to his again.

xXx

It had been two years since the fall of Suna. One of the most dramatic battles recorded in history. The other villages were highly concerned, and on high alert for months, even a year after the attack.

Suna natives took residence in Konoha, who expanded their territory to fit the population. Sand nin and Konoha nin mixed, though the Sand preferred the symbol of Sand on their hatai ate.

After a year, life returned to normal in Konoha, though noone could forget the horrors they'd seen that day.

Especially not a woman named Haruno Sakura.

She'd watched the man she loved most in the world die right before her eyes. And though she'd surpassed even Tsunade in medical skills, she was powerless to stop the attack, or save him.

For a year, she'd mourned. She kept herself in a black hole, nearly driven to suicide.

One had saved her, brought some sort of normalcy into her life.

Neji Hyuga.

She'd begun to date the man, after a year.

It'd been a year since they started dating.

Sakura had gotten the team she'd begged for. She found out they weren't peach cobbler and vanilla ice-cream, but she enjoyed the feeling it gave her when her Genin did a job well-done.

She'd come to love and appreciate her Genin and Neji as well. And Naruto, being the ever-supportive friend. Sai, who was still there for her, and still loved her with all his heart.

Some days, she thought she could forget that day.

But no, it stayed in the back of her mind like a headache that wouldn't go away. It gnawed at her insides. Ate away at her heart.

And some nights, she still cried. She bawled her eyes out, and the next morning they'd be puffy and red. Neji would always lecture her, and she'd take it and nod. And afterwards, he'd cuddle her and share sweet kisses with her.

But she could never get that face out of her head.

And frankly, she didn't know if she wanted to.

(A/N: Okay, sucky, I know. But hey, at least I didn't wait two months to come out with it, right? xD Anyways, please enjoy.)


	2. Chapter 1

Tracks to Listen to:

"I'll Be Waiting," by Lenny Kravitz.

"Mad World," by Gary Jules.

"Here Without You, Baby," by Three Doors Down.

**Well, my lovely GaaraxSakura supporters. It's time for the sequel to "The Sands of Time." What will happen to Gaara? Is he dead? What about Sakura? Can she ever get over him? **

**...What happens if he comes back?**

**We'll find out, won't we? Fufufu.**

xXx

"Owowowow, Sakura-sensei!"

"What did I tell you?!" she was pulling on his ear, yelling at the raven-headed boy.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" said a blonde woman, waving and smiling.

Sakura looked up to see Temari approaching her team. she smiled a bit and replied, "Ohayo, Temari-chan." she let go of Kenshi's ear to embrace Temari, sighing a bit.

"How are you?" the woman asked, smiling at her.

"I'm okay," Sakura replied wearily, shooting a glare at the still complaining Kenshi. "My students are giving me a time."

"Should I straighten them out?" Temari said, winking.

Sakura giggled. "I think it'll be okay, but if I ever need you to scare them, I'll give you a call."

Temari chuckled, and released her. "I'll see you later then, Sakura-chan," she said as she walked off, waving. Sakura waved back, smiling.

She rounded on Kenshi. "You screwed up the mission today, Kenshi."

"I said sorry, Sakura-sensei!" Kenshi whined.

She huffed. "You say that every time you screw up a mission! But do you learn?? No!"

"I'll do better, Sakura-sensei! I promise!!" Kenshi said, seeing the look on her face.

"Aieeee!" he screeched, running.

xXx

Two years previously

It'd been two days. He finally awoke from unconsciousness a deep throbbing pain in his chest. He could feel his heart beating faintly in his chest. The wind ruffled his blood-matted hair and clothes. He struggled greatly just to lift his face from the dirt, and infected cuts pulsed in pain. He scowled, growling and struggling to get up.

"...S..." he could speak, his voice was almost completely gone. "Sa.."

He croaked, desperately wishing he had water. "Sa..kura.." he mumbled, reaching out the best he could. He dug his fingers into the ground, to try and pull himself in no certain direction.

The blood had dried and he could feel the infection of the hole in his chest. He could hear the squawking of the buzzards circling overhead in the hot sun.

_'I can't die,' _he thought desperately. _'Sakura..'_

_**'Oh, so you've finally given in?' **_the organ beating faintly in his chest snapped. _**'Well it's a little bit late for that, don't you think??'**_

_'I need her, I can't live without her..' _he thought back, choking a bit. Blood spurted on the ground.

_**'I know you do, and neither can I. Those medic skills could be of help right now..'**_

_'It's not that..' _Gaara choked, tears coming to his eyes.

"I need her, I want her, she's mine.. I'm not giving up until I have her!"

xXx

Present Time

She geared up, for a mission to Mist. She'd bought new ninja tools earlier, from TenTen's shop. She always shopped there. TenTen was probably the closest to her out of all of her female friends. So, she supported TenTen's story by shopping there.

Before the fall of Suna, she hadn't been too close to the brunette. But since Neji had become her lover, she'd spent much more time with his teammates, and they'd grown close.

Sometimes, she thought she was happy.

But she knew that as soon as she had nothing to distract her, back the memories would come. and so would the tears. And the pain.

"Gaara.." she whispered, sniffling as she finished packing.

She headed out the door, to the Hokage's office.

xXx

"He looks familiar," one whispered.

Another looked at him oddly. "Is that the--?" he began, but another interjected in a hushed voice.

"Impossible, Suna's deserted. Probably some look-a-like.."

He wore a large hood, covering his face and body. It was black as midnight, and though it made him stand out, he preferred to stand out for his cloak than to reveal to the entire village who he was.

He remembered how he got there. Two years previously, a woman had found him.. He didn't know why she was in the ruins of Suna, only that she'd saved him. He couldn't even remember what she looked like, only that she'd tended to his wounds rather nicely. And she obviously didn't know who he was, for after she healed him up, she left him.

And so, he'd spent two years roaming the Mist, and the Waterfall villages.

He couldn't bring himself to go to Konoha, couldn't bear to show his face there.

After all, he was solely responsible for letting Suna fall. Something in the back of his mind told him that wasn't true, but he wasn't listening.

There was one sole thing on his mind: _'Sakura.'_

"A hundred days have made me older, since the last time that I saw your pretty face," he whispered to himself. "A thousand lies have made me colder, and I don't think I could look at this the same.."

"And all the miles that separate," he murmured, "Have disappeared and now I'm dreaming of your face.."

Pink hair and green eyes brimmed to the front of his mind, and he continued to murmur to himself, "I'm here without you baby... But you're still on my lonely mind.. I think about you baby.. And I dream about you all the time.."

Someone stared at him. He turned away, and walked faster. "I'm here without you baby, but you're still with me in my dreams.."

"...And tonight, it's only you and me..." he looked up at the sky, which had turned a cloudy grey.

"Rain," he whispered, just seconds before water droplets came down on his tired face. The pink hair and green eyes remained in his head, and his heart began aching all over again.

In a similar country, not too far away, the rain began as well. A certain woman stopped in the middle of the street, looking up into the rain, the droplets coming down on her tired face. Red hair and black-rimmed eyes entered her mind, and a few tears mixed with the rain running down her face. Her heart began aching all over again.

(A/N: Haha, it's like half a chapter. Anyways, chapters will be much shorter, sadly. But that just means there'll have to be twice as many chapters, right?! D Anyways, please find it in your wonderful hearts to review for me. –Hearts-)


	3. Chapter 2

Tracks to Listen to:

"Pressure," by Paramore.

"All In Your Hands," by Framing Hanley.

"Rainy Monday," by Shiny Toy Guns.

**Kukuku.. Well, we all know Gaara's alive and well.. What problems will it create for Sakura? Will she leave Neji? What about Suna? What's going to happen?**

**We'll find out.**

xXx

She had sniffled, and was about to open the door to the entrance of the Hokage Tower, when someone had called out to her.

"Sakura-sensei!" Sakura turned around to see Kenshi dragging the other two members of her team towards her, a bright grin on his face.

"What is it, Kenshi?" she blinked, resisting the urge to wipe her eyes. The rain continued to fall, coming down harder than before. Kenshi's dark hair lay matted as water ran down his smiling face.

"Where ya goin?" he asked, giving her an eye-crease smile.

"I'm about to go on a mission," she replied calmly, hand still on the doorknob.

"To where? I wanna know!" Kenshi questioned chipperly.

"Geez, Naruto, what's with all the questions?" Sakura grinned. Her face then fell, realizing what she'd called him.

"Oh, Kenshi, I'm so--"

"Don't worry about it!" he said, grinning. "Actually, it's kind of a compliment, Naruto-sama's awesome!"

"At least you're not saying dattebayo," Sakura mumbled, looking up at the rain. Then, directing her voice to the Genin, she said, "You guys go home, your mission's done."

"But I love the rain, dattebayo!" Kenshi whined.

Sakura's eye twitched.

"Shut up, that phrase is stupid!" Sasaki snapped. "Kenshi, you're such a loser!"

Kenshi shot a look at Sasaki, but said nothing.

"I'm going home," Akira said lazily, arms folded over his chest. The normal hawk-like flip in his hair in the back was matted down by the heavy rain.

Sakura smiled at Sasaki and Kenshi, who started bickering. _'You guys'll get over it one day..' _she thought.

"Guys, I suggest following Akira's example," Sakura called out, but they'd already begun to follow the white-haired boy, still arguing. Sakura noticed Akira rolling his eyes and sighing, and chuckled.

Before casting another look at her team, she opened the door to the Hokage Tower, and crept inside. As soon as she was inside, the door closed behind her, and she untied her headband and slid it off. She then bent over and shook her hair out, flipping it back. It easily bounced back into its normal style, and she tied her soggy headband in after wringing it out.

She began making her way up the steps, head down. She counted each step as she walked up them, a thing she often did those days. A new hobby? She didn't think so. More like.. a distraction.

She had little time those days; her life was always busy with missions and whatnot. And Neji. And her team. And Naruto always bugging her for a date, just to get on Neji's bad side. And Sai being overprotective.

She often didn't even have time to cry. In a way, she was glad she coldn't cry, because if she was crying that meant she was thinking of... him.

She stopped mid-step, body stiffening.

...He was alive. She could feel it. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her hand gripped the metal pole she was holding onto previously even tighter. She fought back the tears threatening to surface in her eyes and shook her head, looking down.

"Don't think about him, Sakura," she reminded herself, resisting the urge to smack herself.

"Neji, think of Neji," she said, closing her eyes tightly. She pictured the face of the Hyuga, coffee-brown hair falling over his shoulders. His eyes were squinting, the piercing gaze familiar and warm. His lips were curved in a light, half-smile, the usual case when looking at her.

...It changed. Brown hair turned blood-red. Black formed around his eyes, which were now a breath-taking sea-green. The small, half smile turned even fainter, but it was still there. Eyebrows disappeared, and a tattoo sppeared on his forehead. "Love."

Did the man know what that meant? He rejected her, but that didn't mean he didn't know what the word meant. He may have never experienced it, but the word had a technical meaning which he must've known.

Sakura shook her head, wiping her eyes. She cried too often, she decided.

_'Ugh, if only these damned tear ducts could be taken out,' _she thought, inwardly rolling her eyes.

She heard a faint heartbeat, and her eyes popped open. She raised her head, and slowly looked around. It became louder.

"It's his, he's alive," she whispered, turning around. Momentarily forgetting she was on the steps, she tripped, and was about to fall. A hand grabbed hers, and straightened her. She looked down at the hand still gripping hers, and then slowly her eyes travelled up.

There he was, smiling faintly down at her. "You alright?" he asked, and her eyes watered.

Suddenly, his face shimmered, fading away. In his stead was Sai.

"Sai," Sakura blinked, shaking her head. She used a hand to wipe her eyes, and Sai slowly let go of her other hand.

"You were thinking about him," the pale man murmured, looking at her sincerely. "..You alright..?"

Sakura looked down, before nodding. "I'm fine," she replied, although she didn't sound very sure.

"Do you want to talk? Need me to do anything?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Sakura smiled a bit at him. "I'm fine, Sai, I'll be fine. I have a mission, so I was heading up to Tsunade-shishou's office.."

"Oh, I see," Sai nodded, giving his signature eye-crease smile. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

"It wouldn't be necessary." Sakura assured him, smiling.

"I have nothing else to do, I just got back from a mission so I was reporting just a minute ago." Sai pointed up the stairs with his thumb, over his shoulder.

"If you want, I guess," Sakura shrugged, and the two began making their way up the endless staircase. Sakura's hand slid along the handrail as she trudged up the stairs, and as her fingers slid along the smooth, silver metal, she closed her eyes, reminded of when the pair had slid down the handrails together.

She ended up landing in his arms, and the moment they shared caused tears to begin welling up behind her closed eyelids.

"Sakura, you alright?" Sai asked, and Sakura's eyes popped open, tears receding.

"I'm fine," she said, voice slightly shaking. She removed her hands from the rail, as if it were diseased.

Sai frowned. "You have to stop thinking of him," he said sternly. "If you don't you'll never move on, and you'll never be happy. He's dead, Sakura... What can you get from a dead man?"

"He's not dead!!" she yelled angrily, tears brewing in her eyes. She glared at him, before shoving him and running up the stairs. Sai faltered a bit from her push, but began running up after her.

"Sakura!" he called, but she shook her head, tears streaming.

"Go away!" she yelled, running faster. Eventually Sai gave up, hanging his head dejectedly.

"Can all I do is upset her?" he muttered, putting a hand to his forehead.

Sakura continued running to make sure she lost the raven-headed man, and flung open a door, running in and slamming it shut behind her. Panting heavily, she noticed the blonde at her desk, and quickly wiped her eyes, straightening her posture.

But the woman'd already noticed her fragile state.

"Sakura, I think it's time we talked." she said quietly.

"What do you mean, shishou?" Sakura replied in an overly chipper voice, and inwardly curse, knowing she was definitely given away.

"Sit down," Tsunade said.

Sakura gulped.

(A/N: Weeeell. Another chapterrr. Hope you guys think it's okay, lemme know what you think.)


	4. Chapter 3

Tracks to Listen to:

"Cold," by Crossfade.

"Sadness and Sorrow," by... Dunno, it's on Naruto. ..

"Behind Blue Eyes," by Limp Bizkit.

**Noone asked about this, but when I put "Tracks to Listen to," I don't mean you have to listen to them. Those are just songs I listened to to get in the mood for writing the chapter, and songs I listen to on a daily basis. xD**

**Anyways, enjoy. Sakura's been caught! :o**

xXx

"Sakura, it's been two years.." Tsunade said, looking at the now seated kunoichi. "...Since the battle. I may be old, but I'm not completely clueless. I know something happened in Suna, when you went to train him.. When you came back, you weren't the same. And you haven't been, ever since... You've been getting worse."

Sakura looked down.

Tsunade leaned forward in her chair, inspecting Sakura closely. Finally, she said, "What happened there, Sakura?"

Sakura desperately tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but ended up choking out one letter. "..I-I..."

"..You what?" Tsunade peered at her.

She closed her eyes, and croaked, "..I-I... I fell in love.."

"...I knew it," Tsunade said, sitting back in her chair. "..I knew it would happen. No wonder. Did he.. Reject you?"

Sakura slowly nodded, biting her lip, hard. The lump in her throat became bigger, and she wanted water very badly at the moment.

"I see," Tsunade nodded, closing her eyes. "Gomenasai, Sakura.. It must've hurt."

"Still does," the pink-headed 22-year-old mumbled.

"Two years, Sakura," Tsunade peered at her curiously, chin resting on her propped up hands. "..And you're still not over him? I hate to say it, but.. He's dead. Kakashi and Neji both saw it with their own eyes.."

"He's alive, shishou!!" Sakura cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I can feel it! He's alive and he's out there, I know it!"

"Sakura, that's completely mental.." Tsunade said, oddly calm. "..He was Impaled in the _chest._ That's fatal, that wound would ensure death."

"Shishou... For once..." Sakura stood, fists clenching. "...I think you're wrong."

Tsunade sighed, closing her eyes. "Off this issue.." she mumbled. "Your mission. Details are in the scroll."

She then dismissed her.

Sakura slowly made her way down the stairs, reading the scroll. She was chosen for the assassination of one of the secret guard of some governer in the Land of Tea. Sakura rolled her eyes.

Always in some land she'd hardly ever been to. She'd only been to the Land of Tea one time since 9 years ago, when her, Sasuke, and Naruto had been assigned to escord Idate along the race. She shuddered, thinking of the now completely evil Uchiha.

"Why'd you ever go?" she whispered, looking down at the paper.

She shook her head, rolling up the scroll and stuffing it in her ninja pouch. She headed down the stairs, humming a tune. Her humming soon turned to singing.

"Looking back at the beginning of this, and how life was.." she murmured. "Just you and me and love and all of our friends, Living life like an ocean..."

"Now the current's slowly pulling me down.. It's getting harder to breathe.." she closed her eyes as she trotted down the steps. "It won't be too long and I'll be going under... Can you save me from this?"

She smiled sadly, trotting down the last set of steps. "Cause it's not my time, I'm not going, there's a fear in me, it's not showing... This could be the end of me, and everything I know.. Oh, I won't go.."

Someone came up behind her and stopped her walking down the street, pulling her close. "Who's beautiful voice do I hear?" he said softly, voice amused and peaceful.

"Beautiful? Maybe not." she chuckled, removing the hands placed on her eyes gently and turning around. There Neji stood, smiling lightly down at her.

"Maybe it is," he said, and she knew he thought so. She smiled wider, and he said, "You're beautiful too."

"You're so sweet," she whispered, arms wrapped around his neck.

He leaned down and kissed her passionately, closing his eyes. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close.

"Ew, get a room, sensei!" Sakura pulled away from Neji to see Kenshi walking by, making an "eww" face.

"Shut up, Kenshi!" she snapped back, giving him a look.

"Aiee!" he yelped, then ran.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Kids," she muttered.

She looked at Neji. "I have a mission," she said quietly, before unlooping her arms from his neck.

He pecked her cheek. "Good luck, be safe.."

"Arigatou," she said, smiling. She turned to go.

"Wait," he grabbed her hand. She looked back at him. He pulled her close, holding her hands.

"Sakura, I love you."

Her eyes watered, and her lower lip trembled. The look in his eyes was so serious, so sincere.

He transformed. Brown hair became red, eyes became sea-green, skin became tanner...

Sakura threw her arms about him, sobbing. "Gaara..." she muttered, smelling his familiar scent. Her tears littered his brown shirt.

Neji sighed, wrapping his arms about her. He knew she still loved the red-head, and he couldn't say he didn't regret getting so serious with her when he knew...

"Shh," he whispered, hugging her tightly as she cried.

xXx

She leaped through the trees, the scene with Neji replaying in her head. Why did she succumb to the hallucination? She must've made the Hyuga feel bad, calling him Gaara the way she did.

She supposed he knew that she wasn't over Gaara, and it made her wonder why he still got into a relationship with her. Perhaps he wasn't serious? Nah, Neji was the king of seriousness. He knew, yet he did it anyways. It wasn't logical.

And Neji was the logical type.

She decided, she would ask him when she got back from her mission.

For now, she concentrated on the goal ahead.

xXx

"Hey, we should plan a surprise for Sakura-sensei for when she gets back!" Kenshi snickered.

"You mean, a prank or..?" Sasaki looked at him flatly.

"Well, I was thinking more of a party, but a prank works too." he laughed evilly.

Sasaki rolled her eyes. "Don't you think sensei's a little bit smart to fall for a trick played by a moron like you?"

Kenshi shrugged. "It's worth a try! So, what'll we do??"

The three huddled together to come up with a plan.

"Okay, so we've got it!" Kenshi whispered, snickering.

"I would suppose so, moron."

"So, tonight.." Kenshi rubbed his hands together deviously.

"When else, idiot?"

"Shut up, Sasaki!"

"You shut up, dobe!"

"How about the both of you shut up?!"

(A/N: Lol, so was it okay? Looks like the trio's got some dirty plans up their sleeves! Mua ha ha!)


	5. Chapter 4

Tracks to Listen to:

"I Hate Everything About You," by Three Days Grace.

"My Heart Will Go On," by Celine Dion(Titanic Theme).

"Love You To Death," by Type O Negative.

**Mua ha ha. Those little devils, what are they up to? And what will Sakura find in Mist...? Hm? :**

xXx

Night fell over her as she leaped swiftly and silently through the trees. She yawned.

"I wish there were someone to talk to," she mumbled. "Singing gets troublesome after a while.."

She closed her eyes as she leaped, sighing deeply. "So sleepy..." she fumbled in her ninja pouch, pulled out a soldier pill and popped it in her mouth, swallowing. She immediately felt more alive, like she'd just drunk two cups of coffee and ate an energy bar.

Sakura blinked, now much more aware of her surroundings.

After a few hours had passed and the effects of the pill wore off, Sakura gave a larger leap, and landed on the ground gracefully. She sat down, back against a tree. Her breathing, which was slightly heavy, calmed as she sighed.

"Guess I should rest here for the night... No point in rushing.." she murmured, yawning. She soon closer her eyes and fell into a sleep-like state, though her body was still aware of what was going on around her.

"Gaara.." was the last word she whispered, before falling asleep.

xXx

He laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He hadn't had an ounce of sleep in over two years. It didn't matter how tired he was. If he didn't have her, he didn't have peace. Period.

Sometimes.. he wished his feelings for her would go away. She'd probably forgotten about him, moved on to someone else.

She probably never had a though about him anymore. It'd been two years after all. But there he was, thinking about her for the hundredth time that day. He swore to himself he's gone insane, he knew it wasn't healthy to be thinking of someone so much.

_**'So what'cha gonna do about Sakura?' **_something asked him, and Gaara sighed.

_'I don't know,' _he thought.

_**'Well at least you un-blocked me. that wasn't very nice. I even picked up my book of insults, I was so lonely.'**_

'_Oh, God forbid you start insulting me again,' _Gaara rolled his eyes. _'It's actually sad, my own heart insults me..'_

'_**You deserve it,' **_the organ replied. _**'You let the best thing that ever happen to you slip right through your fingers, and now what? She's forgotten allll about you.'**_

Gaara growled at the smug tone it used. _'I'm not giving up until I find her… I just can't go back to Konoha.'_

'_**Why not? Ashamed? You should be.'**_

'_NO NEED TO REMIND ME!'_

'_**Geez, pissy aren't we?'**_

xXx

Tsunade shook her head, looking sadly at the Hyuga. "Neji, tell me something."

Neji looked at her, knowing what she was going to ask.

"…Why do you stay with her, knowing she still loves him? Do you love her that much?"

Neji looked down, before closing his eyes. After a moment, he looked back at Tsunade, face serious. "I frankly don't know.. Maybe I do."

Tsunade looked down. "You know as well as I do that something's not right in her head," she looked away. "If Sakura comes back from her mission and she's still the same, I might have to.."

"..To what?" Neji's eyes widened.

"..I might have put her in the institution.." Tsunade said, voice barely above a whisper.

Neji had a look of horror on his face. "You wouldn't!" he protested.

"I have to," Tsunade shook her head. "She'd only get worse, and things could get bad…"

"But—"

"Neji!" Tsunade looked at him, eyes angry yet sad. "…She cries, all the time, and it's been two years.. She rarely smiles.. She's pushing friends away.. Like Sai, for instance. Even an old woman like myself can tell he loves her as well, and she treats him like he only gets in the way. Does that say something to you..?"

Neji looked down, eyes sad. "I love her," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry."

xXx

She woke up early, too early for her liking. Sakura was never a morning person.

She rubbed her eyes wearily, grumbling a few colorful words. She stretched, before standing, her movement temporarily clearing the mist that'd developed. "Mist, Mist," she chuckled at the oddity, referring to the mist surrounding her and the village she was so close to. Shaking her head a bit, she leaped on, still half-asleep.

The wee hours of the morning surrounded her, and she grouched, scowling for no reason. Every little thing was bothering her. The incessant mist, the bugs flying about, the sun just coming up over the tree-tops..

She wondered why. She hated mornings, but in none of them did she feel this pathetic. She closed her eyes wearily, and had time to sleep. But when Sakura woke up, she was almost never able to get back to sleep.

She took another soldier pill, and found out that she'd just taken the last one. She grumbled something about being poor, and headed on through the trees.

xXx

Soon enough, she came upon the village. It was shrouded in mist, even though by the time she'd reached it, it was mid-day and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. She always found that an odd trait of Mist.

'_I'll have to wait until nighttime,' _she thought. _'It'd be too obvious in broad daylight.'_

She decided to lie low until night came.

Before she entered the borders of the village, she took her headband off, and changed into regular traveler clothes, which she always packed just in case. She stared at her headband for a moment, before packing it in her pack along with her ninja gear.

She then entered the village.

xXx

Faces, faces. Without something on her mind to distract her, her thoughts slowly turned, and every face she saw transformed into his. One man stared at her, and his face turned into Gaara's. She shivered, turning her head and walking faster.

'_I wonder, if he's here,' _she thought, hoping to catch a glimpse of red hair.

'**Tsunade-sama already said he was dead!' **Inner Sakura said. **'Plus, you have Neji now! Cha!!'**

'_I KNOW he's alive! I can FEEL it!' _Sakura yelled at her Inner self, blocking her out.

'…_**So can I,' **_something whispered.

'_Who are you?' _Sakura asked the unfamiliar voice.

'_**Something you don't listen to often, because of your Inner self,' **_it whispered again.

'…_My heart?'_

'_**..Correct.'**_

"…Gotta stop," she murmured, shaking her head and continuing on.

xXx

Night had fallen. She'd rented a hotel room, for she knew she couldn't go back in the night, and changed there, in the quiet of midnight. Then, after tying her headband on, she stole out the window, swiftly and silently.

She snuck along the walls of buildings and such. Most, if not all lights were off, so she really didn't have much to worry about, but she snuck, just to be safe. Seeing the tall tower of the governor ahead, she slowly made her way in that direction. She looked up momentarily, and noticed that it was about to rain. Sure enough, in seconds, rain came pouring down on her, soaking her completely.

She wasn't looking at her surroundings, only focusing on the building ahead.

Therefore, she bumped into something hard.

'_Shit!' _she thought, but when the man's hood fell and she saw who it was she bumped into, she froze completely.

Everything froze. The rain stopped, paused midway in falling.

Her eyes widened drastically, tears immediately starting to fall.

"Ga…" she couldn't even speak. Her mouth hung slightly ajar, tears mixing with the rain on her face. He stared at her, and seemed to be in just as much shock as she was.

"Sakura," he breathed, breath coming out as fog.

They couldn't move. It seemed as if they were paralyzed.

"…Gaa…Gaara.." she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

He swooped in, and grabbed her up, holding her tightly to him, tears coming to his black-rimmed eyes.

She wrapped her arms about his neck and began sobbing into his chest, as they rocked back and forth, in the rain.

"I-I can't believe it's you," she cried, eyes squeezed shut.

"Sakura.." he murmured, nuzzling his cheek against hers. "I can't tell you how long I've waited for this…"

"Everyone told me you were dead.." she whispered against his shoulder. "But I knew… I never gave up on you.."

He shook his head to rid his eyes of tears, although his face was wet anyways. He moved his head back a bit to stare into her eyes, and felt the lump rising in his throat.

"Sakura, I…." a hand unwound from her waist to touch her cheek, and she gazed up at him, eyes shining, wet with tears.

"…I… I love you..." he murmured, leaning closer. "I always did.."

"..Then why?" she whispered. "…How could you…?"

"The village," he murmured, not being able to tear his eyes away from hers. "I was trying to think of what was best for the village.. I love you so much Sakura, and I knew that if I fell into a romance with you.. I'd never be able to think of anything else. And if I couldn't think of anything but you.. My village couldn't trust me to be there."

Sakura's eyes watered even more, and her eyes squinted. "Suna's in ruin, now," she whispered, hands gripping his forearms tightly.

"…I know." He murmured, finally looking away.

Sakura's hands went to his face, grabbing it gently and turning it to face her.

"I love you, Gaara.." she murmured, before smashing their lips together, rain soaking them. She closed her eyes, arms wrapping about his neck tightly to pull him closer. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her up against him.

One hand gripped his hair, as her legs wrapped around his waist. He was now supporting her, holding her up against him. He momentarily broke away to whisper, "I love you," before claiming her lips again, heart exploding.

He began walking, carrying her to the local hotel room he stayed in. He kicked the door open to the room, keeping the kiss intact as Sakura's hands roamed his chest and neck.

He slowly approached the bed, and gently laid her back on it, crawling over top of her. He looked into her eyes, and she gazed up at him.

"Haruno Sakura, I love you.. With all my heart…" he murmured seriously.

Sakura's lips curved into a faint smile. A hand reached up to touch his cheek. "Sabaku no Gaara, I love you… With all my heart.." she replied, biting her lip.

He leaned, placing a soft kiss on her lips before settling himself over her, sliding them easily up to the head of the bed. He laid on his side, turned to face her. She laid on her side, facing him. They stared into each other's eyes as he kept her to him by his arm being wrapped around her waist, and one hand reached up to brush a lock of pink hair away from her smiling face.

"…I'm sorry." He whispered, before closing his eyes and burying his face in her neck. She kissed the top of his head, holding him tightly.

"You were forgiven the second you did it," she whispered back, before closing her eyes.

That night was the first night she had a peaceful sleep, in over two years.

(A/N: So the lovers are reunited… But what about Neji? And Sakura's mission? And what about Gaara? Is he returning to Konoha with her..? Fufufu…)


	6. Chapter 5

Tracks to Listen to:

"Mad World," by Gary Jules.

"Love You To Death," by Type O Negative(I STRONGLY suggest listening to this one in the later scene).

"My Immortal," by Evanescence.

**Okay, so if you decide to listen to the songs I put up(I only put them because it might help set up the mood for reading the chapter), it doesn't really matter what order you listen to them in. xD**

**Sakura and Gaara are finally reunited! And I listened to a sad theme from Naruto(Not Sadness and Sorrow, the one where Sakura meets Sasuke before he leaves the village, you can e-mail me to ask for it. My e-mail's ) while writing when they finally meet, and.. Geez, I broke into tears. It really helped me write it, so maybe it'll help when you read any future chapters, or sad stories. -Shrug- **

**Kay, enjoy. Dx**

**And yes, I know "Mad World" was origionally by Tears For Fears. **

**OH! And, another interruption. Uhm, this chapter sorta kinda has... A bit of graphic scenes in it? -Cough-**

**So if you don't enjoy the graphic-ness, don't read. xD**

xXx

"..She's still not back?!" the blonde shouted, standing and slamming her fists onto her desk in rage. "She should've been back this morning!!"

"But she's not, Hokage-sama," Neji said, worried. "I want to dispatch a search team to find her."

"I don't know, Neji," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "She may have just had a bit of difficulty with the mission.."

"I know Sakura, she's not like that," Neji said, voice slightly louder than before. "Unless something was terribly wrong, she would be back by now!!"

_'"He's alive, shishou! I can feel it! He's alive and he's out there, I know it!"'_

Tsunade's eyes widened. "No, it couldn't possibly.." she whispered, looking down with a worried face.

"Couldn't what?" Neji looked at her in surprise.

"Sakura and I had a talk before she left, about her... condition," Tsunade murmured, before looking up at Neji with slightly horror-filled eyes. "She'd said something to me. I thought she was crazy, but.."

"What did she say?" Neji asked in a concerned tone, coming closer.

"She was talking about how she knew Gaara was alive.. How she could feel he was alive and still out there somewhere... But it's impossible!!" Tsunade snarled, banging a fist on her alread-crippled desk. "I don't understand, you and Kakashi saw him die! Could he..?"

"I don't know, Hokage-sama, but.." Neji shook his head, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the small clench in his gut. "... I hope he's not."

Tsunade frowned. "You hope he's still dead?"

"If he's still alive, and Sakura somehow came across him.." Neji's eye twitched, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "...You know as well as I do she'd go to him, no matter the cost. She'd leave the village for him."

Tsunade looked down, eyes sad. "..I know."

"May I, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade sighed deeply, putting her fingertips to her temples.

"...If you don't find her, then you'll know." was all she said.

Neji nodded, before disappearing.

xXx

"Mm.." she murmured, smelling a familiar, and wonderful scent. She was cuddled into something warm and soft.

Her eyes slowly opened, her vision hazy. She blinked them, vision clearing. She then saw she was cuddled into a black shirt. She slowly looked up and saw red hair and black-rimmed eyes, closed as he slept peacefully.

_'Am I dreaming..?' _she'd thought, but it all came back to her. The night before, they'd finally found one another.

It had to have been the happiest day in Sakura's life.

She shifted slightly, mumbling and closing her eyes again, smiling faintly.

A hand that was on her waist began slowly rubbing up and down, lovingly. Sakura moved her head and looked up at his face, and his eyes were half-lidded, still sleepy. Nevertheless, he looked at her, a small smile crossing his lips.

She bit her own lip, staring into his eyes.

"I love you," she whispered, voice cracking.

"..I can't live without you." he whispered back, before smiling lightly at her.

She smiled back, and after a moment, he rolled them over so he was on top of her.

She giggled a bit, blushing. "What are you doing?"

"Something I probably shouldn't be doing," he murmured, before leaning down slowly, eyes drifting closed. Sakura's blush deepened, before she leaned up, closing the distance between them and connecting their lips.

Instead of giving her a hard kiss, Gaara slowly broke away, before beginning to trail kisses along her neck. Not expecting this, and the fact that her neck was a sensitive spot, she squeaked, turning pinker.

Her legs wrapped around his waist as his hands grabbed her hips gently to pull her closer, as she laid back, him on his knees. Her hair splayed out over the pillow, and he stared at her.

"You're beautiful.." he whispered, before leaning over and planting kisses along her collarbone, hands sliding up her stomach under her shirt. This made her blush, and her head tilted back slightly, heart pounding nervously in her chest. She'd never been able to get this intimate with Neji, for she broke down in tears before they could get that far.

One hand smoothly went to the zipper of her shirt, and tugged it down slowly, and she could hear the _"zip" _sound it made ringing in her ears. It felt like everything was happening in slow motion, and she could hear her nervous breathing clearly and loudly in her ears.

She felt the shirt being tugged off her arms as an arm scooped under her to lift her up a bit. His arm remained around her waist, and he resumed his kisses, trailing them down to her chest, around the edges of her pale-colored bra. She intook breath sharply, biting her lip as her head tilted back. Her body shuddered, and she couldn't explain the wonderful feeling she had at the moment.

The hand wrapped around her waist slowly slid up to nimbly unhook her bra, and she blushed furiously.

Before she knew it, she was in nothing but her underwear, and so was he. She heard herself gasping and moaning softly at the friction of their bodies, rubbing against eachother. She could hear his soft gasps and grunted, and her back arched.

"Sakura!" he growled, as he pushed into her. She clung to him, hands gripping his back. She yelled out in pain, as he stretched her, and her nails dug into his back sharply.

Flashes of bare flesh.

Soft sighs and whispers.

Hints of pink and red.

Two bodies jerking.

A head of red hair thrown back, body arching.

(A/N: Blargh! D Okay, so nothing really harsh, but still. Too graphic for some. I should put a warning in the story description, shouldn't I? xP I dun want to though. xD Ah, well. Gotta love romance. And, I didn't mean for this scene to be raunchy or whatever, I wanted it to be purely romantic. I mean, the two just saw eachother, and are reunited after two years. What do you expect? Him to give her flowers? xDD Okay, love you all. Review. D: )


	7. Chapter 6

Tracks to Listen to:

"Let Me Go," by Three Doors Down.

"The Moment," by Nine Days.

"Wonderwall," by Oasis.

**Ooh, so they got all steamy and romantic last night, ooh-la-la. Anyways, lol, let's see where Neji gets.**

**Enjoy. Dx**

**And I coulda swore I saw "Hyuga" when I watched the show. Who knows, I think I'll keep mine until I see proof otherwise. ;D**

xXx

"I want every corner of this village checked!" he barked, glaring the men before him down. They quaked in fear. "I don't want a house, inn, building, nook or cranny unsearched! Got it?!"

The 10 Jonin all nodded, shaking. The they disppeared, leaving the Hyuga to his thoughts. "Sakura, where are you?" he whispered, looking at the grey clouds of the Mist village. "Where did you go..?"

xXx

She felt very warm, and slightly wet. Without opening her eyes, her hand gripped taut skin, and felt that it was a hard, muscular chest. A hard, muscular, _bare _chest. This made her shiver at the possibility. Her brain was foggy.

Soon, it gathered that she was scantily clothed, possibly naked, and so was the person she was cuddled up to. She knew for a fact it was a male.

Her brain died for a moment, and she felt content to just run her hands up and down the man's smooth, strong chest, finger tingling as she bit her lip. She felt his arms wrapped around her bare waist, her legs entangled in his. She could hear a deep rumbling in the man's chest as he stirred, and it made her stifle a small giggle when he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent deeply and mumbling, "You smell so good.."

Her mind went back, to before she'd come to love him. The days was warm and sunny, slightly windy as usual; Gaara had cut himself. She knelt to heal his cut, and was in the process of doing so, when he's murmured that same comment. That day she'd looked at him oddly; now, she looked up into his eyes which were half-lidded, staring down at her. She smiled faintly, before one hand slid up his chest and neck, to touch his cheek.

He smiled faintly before saying, "Oh, and look, you're absolutely beautiful too. Who knew.."

She nipped at his nose playfully. "Quit being a kiss-up." she giggled, one eye closed in a sort of wink.

He smiled down at her, using a finger to brush aside a lock of pink hair. "I'm a kiss-up when I tell the truth...?"

Sakura giggled again, before whispering, "I love you.." she leaned in close, slowly. She captured his lips in a kiss, and the hand touching his face went to his red hair, gripping it gently.

He "mmph"ed in a small groan against her lips and rolled so he was over top of her, lips still connected. She pulled away slowly, giggling and turning red at the contact of their bodies, which were still in the nude from the night before.

"What's that for?" she whispered, smiling up at him.

""Two years of payback." He smirked a bit, before kissing her again. They'd begun rubbing against one another when a loud commotion downstairs was heard. They both jerked, looking at the door with wide eyes.

They silenced, and heard voices in the lobby. "We're looking for a Haruno Sakura! This tall, pink hair—"

They looked at one another, and Sakura's eyes widened in horror and realization. Suddenly, they both jerked out of bed, and began getting dressed. She wanted a shower, but she knew there was not time for that. She looked around frantically for her shirt, when she felt it tossed on her head. She quickly pulled it on, and looked at Gaara frantically.

"What do we do?!" she whispered, eyes watering.

"I don't know," he answered. When they heard footsteps coming up the stairs, she ran to him, clinging to him.

"FREEZE!" they yelled, kicking the door open. All they saw, however, was a few grains of sand floating out the window.

He held her, up against the wall of the Inn. He looked around, wide-eyed for any signs of the Konoha nin.

'_What do I do?!' _he debated with himself. _'Now that I have her.. I don't want to give her up.. But, Konoha needs her more.'_

'_**There you go with all of that "think of the village first" crap..' **_something muttered.

"Don't leave me," she whispered from his chest, but he knew that she knew and was considering the same things he was.

Before he had time to respond, nin came around the corner. He quickly put his hood up to try and conceal his appearance, but one of them shouted, "IT CAN'T BE—!"

"Shit," Gaara muttered, and turned to run with Sakura in his arms. However, the nin surrounded him. None of them made a move to touch him or Sakura when they knew who it was. They didn't have to, however, because a man that Gaara hadn't seen in over two years approached the group.

His eyes widened when he saw the red-head, and he muttered, "It.. Can't be.."

Gaara only furrowed his brows, holding Sakura closer. He looked down and saw that she was faking unconsciousness. _'She doesn't want me or the village to hate her,' _he thought.

Neji held out his hand, glaring at the man. "Give her back."

His mind battled ferociously.

'_Give her up!'_

'_**Run!'**_

'_GIVE HER UP!'_

'_**RUN!'**_

"Give her back!" Neji growled, taking a step closer and still reaching out.

His heart clenched, and he looked down at her.

Neji stepped forward again, and grabbed Sakura, pulling the kunoichi out of Gaara's arms. "Let's go," he murmured to the nin, and turned his back on Gaara, running in the direction of Konoha.

Suddenly, Sakura jerked in the Hyuga's arms, and screamed, "NOOO!" she reached out to Gaara, who stood there looking at her retreating form pathetically.

Neji only held Sakura tighter, and fought back tears developing in his eyes. _'She's found him, and she'll never give him up…'_

Sakura remained silent afterwards, and soon enough, passed out in his arms.

(A/N: Blaaahh. Oh noez! Separated againz! D8 What ever will the couple do?! :o Find out next chapter!)


	8. Chapter 7

Tracks to Listen to:

"Heartache Every Moment," by HIM.

"I Will Survive," by Stephanie Bentley("Holes" the movie soundtrack).

"Washing the World Away," by Crossfade.

**So they get separated yet AGAIN... -Sob- Well, at least Gaara's alive. Maybe they'll find some way back together. -Hearts- Anyways, this is beginning almost right after the battle in Suna, Sakura wakes up in the hospital. Two years before. Okay.**

**Enjoy. Dx**

xXx

Her eyes popped open and she immediately sat up, trying to scream. But nothing came out. She touched her throat, wide-eyed.

_'Why can't I scream?! Where's Gaara?! Gaa...' _her eyes widened even more, in utter horror. Tears then came to her eyes, and she heard the door open. She knew she should've faked sleeping so as not to be bothered, but she was sobbing uncontrollably by the time she felt warm arms around her.

"Shh, Sakura, calm down," the deep voice said, and she knew it as Kakashi's voice. She wriggled and writhed, trying to let out a scream as the tears flooded down her cheeks.

"Sakura, it's okay, it's over!" he said, holding her tightly to him and trying to keep her still.

'_GAARA!' _she wanted to scream, but her throat was so cracked and hoarse from screaming all the way back home that nothing could come out. She shook her head wildly, trying to kick and punch at the person holding her down. Suddenly, another person entered the room, and she felt two pairs of arms around her, holding her tightly and restraining her. Her voice let out a dry, cracked squeak from her straining to scream, and her face contorted into an expression of uncontrollable pain.

"Sakura, please calm down!" another voice said, which she recognized as none other than Neji's. Kakashi and Neji both kept trying to calm her down, until eventually she became too tired to struggle anymore. She laid back, tears streaming down her face onto her hair and pillow.

Neji sat by the bed in a chair, elbow leaning on the bed-side desk. His cheek rested on his knuckles, and he looked at her sadly. "Sakura," he said, tone-of-voice soft and meek. Kakashi had left the room reluctantly after being reported to by a nurse that he was needed in the Hokage's office.

She slowly turned her head to look at him, eyes tear-stained and face extremely pale. There were bags under her eyes, and scratches and cuts along her usually flawless, beautiful face.

"He was that precious to you..?" Neji asked gently, shifting in the chair to put his hands in his lap, leaning slightly forward to peer at her. His pupil-less, light eyes scanned her almost dead-looking face.

She turned her head back to look up at the ceiling, before quietly mouthing the word, "Yes."

"Sakura, it's been two days since the battle, and this was the first you've woke up. Suna's villagers and some Sand nin are here, and they're okay.." he reached a hand out to brush a lock of pink hair away from her face gently. "Some ANBU went back to the battle scene to look for survivors, and you were the only medic nin that wasn't sent along with them."

"..Wh.." she choked, unable to speak. Her voice came out in little squeaks, not understandable. Neji reached into the drawer on the bedside table and pulled out a pad and brush, dipping the bristles in black ink. He hand the pad and the utensil to her, and she took it, stroking the brush along the paper in jerky, shaky strokes. The symbols were almost unreadable, but he looked at them before looking down, letting out a small, exhausted sigh. He waited a moment before whispering, "…Gaara's body was never found."

Her eyes widened and she looked down, tears streaming again. Her eyes were red and puffy, glassy and glazed over. "Gaara," she mouthed, voice coming out as a small, terrified squeak.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." Neji frowned sadly at her, light-colored eyes scanning over her pale, blotchy face. "I know you loved him, I can remember our whole conversation on the way there.."

Her lower lip trembled, and her shoulders began shaking as she cried harder. He leaned forward, out of the chair, and wrapped his arms around her. Her head leaned on his chest, face contorted into an expression of unimaginable pain. _'My life is gone…'_

xXx

She jerked up, panting and looking around wildly. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, and her hands were trembling. Her eyes began watering, from the dream she'd just had.

…Only, it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. One of the most painful memories of her life. She looked at her surroundings. A hospital room. Was that the reason the dream had occurred? _'Possibly,' _she thought, as her gaze fell upon the sleeping figure in the chair next to the bed she was currently on. Her eyes saddened immediately at the rising and falling white-shirted chest of the Hyuga, some stray coffee-brown locks falling over his shoulders.

'_I'm so sorry, Neji,' _her mind whispered, and she reached out to brush a strand of hair away from his peaceful face. He stirred, and she quickly laid back, pretending to sleep.

She could tell by the look on his sleepy face he knew she was awake, but said nothing. He only stared at her for a moment, before reaching out and entwining a few fingers in her hair. He continued to gaze at her, before murmuring, "Sakura, I know you're awake."

She still pretended to sleep, so he heaved a small sigh and turned her over on the bed to face him. She looked at him and immediately her eyes began to water.

"Sakura, I don't know whether the kidnapping was consented or not, but if you were planning on running away with him…It's best you stay in Konoha, where people need you more." He said calmly, searching her face. What he was searching for, he didn't know. Maybe something like a click in her brain, letting him know he was right.

Nothing clicked. Tears still streamed down her face, and he could tell she wanted to stay with the red-head, no matter the cost. _'I know he was thinking of what was best for me..' _she thought sadly, Gaara's face entering her mind. _'B-But still…'_

"On a lighter note, guess who decided they had a liking for each other while you were gone?" Neji sat back in his chair, smiling a bit.

"Who?" Sakura's voice was very soft, and trembled slightly.

"Naruto and Temari have been dating for about three days. Almost right after you left for your mission."

Sakura gaped. "…What the…" she sat up, rubbing her messy pink hair. Neji reached out to help, smoothing down the silky pink strands.

"Sakura," he grabbed her shoulders gently to turned her to face him. He looked at her seriously, before saying clearly, "I love you."

Her eyes widened slightly, and they watered. "Neji, I—"

"And I know you still love him, Sakura." He continued quietly, looking away. "And I know you could never love me the way I love you while he's alive. And… I've accepted that. However, you have to think of what's best for the village, Sakura.."

She touched a hand down to his cheek, looking at him sadly. "I-I'm so sorry, Neji," she whispered, "..For everything."

He looked at her, before moving his hands away from her shoulders, looking away again. "I understand, Sakura." He got up and made a move to leave, but she leaped out of the bed and threw her arms about his waist from behind him, cheek resting on his back. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at her questioningly, and she whispered, "..Thank you..Neji.."

He turned his head back to looking down at the floor, before letting his eyelids drift closed. A small smile lighted his lips, and he slowly unwound her arms from his waist. He turned to her and kissed her knuckles gently, before turning on his heel and heading out of the room, long hair swishing slightly.

Sakura stared after him sadly, eyes watering slightly. She had always been hesitant in getting into a relationship with the Hyuga, but she'd let herself get carried away. Because, with him sleeping next to her, the nightmares she'd faced every night were temporarily washed away, and didn't haunt her. She supposed she'd only wished for the comfort of a man, and had taken a liking to the man. She supposed, in a way, that she'd.. Almost given up on Gaara. She still ached for the red-head every day, but for two years she'd believed he was dead. She remembered when she awoke, shortly after when her dream had taken place, she'd been confined to her home, for weeks. Mostly because she was considered insane. Another part was that she'd struggled, screaming and kicking, to run back to the battlefield and retrieve the red-head believed to be lying there dead.

Sakura shook her head, before plopping back on the hospital bed. A nurse came in shortly after to tend to her, and she closed her eyes, thinking of the night they'd shared. A familiar, yet small heat settled in her lower abdomen at the thought, flashing images of their naked bodies crossing her mind. She felt her cheeks turn hot, and clenched her legs together, trying to ban the images from her head.

But soon, she was swamped, images of damp, hot bodies rubbing and clashing, images of ruffled red and pink hair clinging to face and neck, the sounds of their moans and sighs of pleasure ringing and flashing through her head. Finally, she saw the bright, vivacious glow of his sea-green eyes after she'd awakened stay imprinted in her mind. It made her tingle all over, and she desperately wished she could throw her arms about his neck and love him to death.

But she was, yet again, separated from him…

But she would be damned if they were separated for long.

(A/N: WOO. I'm grounded from my compy but I sneaked on and finished for ya! ;D I love you gaiz! GAYMENZ! D8)


	9. Chapter 8

Tracks to Listen to:

"Cadence of Her Last Breath," by Nightwish.

"The Islander," by Nightwish.

"The Heart I Once Had," by Nightwish.

"The Deep End," by Crossfade.

**Haha, almost all the songs by the same band. And guys, Nightwish is my new favorite band. These guys are great, they are definitely worth checking out. This band is a Finnish metal band, and if you like metal, or even just sad melodies, they're perfect. They're amazing. And that lead guitarist is Veeeeery easy on the eyes. ;D ...Actually, so is the piani-- Oh, hell to it. All of them are hot. xD**

**Anyways, woo.**

**Enjoy. Dx**

xXx

"Did you enjoy your break sensei?!" Kenshi asked excitedly, grinning widely. It had been two days since Sakura had been brought back. Sasaki shot him a look, and he calmed slightly.

"It was alright, Kenshi," Sakura said tiredly, as they headed back towards the Hokage tower upon completing their mission. She looked up at the sunny sky and felt disgusted, wondering how it could be such a beautiful day when her spirits were so dampened.

"This is for long forgotten, the light at the end of the world.." she whispered, before returning her gaze straight ahead, the tall Hokage tower looming overhead. She shook her head, and held back tears in the presence of her students. She gave Kenshi a small, reassuring smile after seeing the look on his face.

"Let's hurry up," Sasaki grouched, before stealing a glance at Akira. She then looked away quickly, eyes shifting over to the pink-headed woman they were following. "Sakura-sensei, you seem very distant."

"I am," the woman whispered to herself, Gaara's face appearing in her mind.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing," Sakura said, voice still dazed. She continued to walk, and when she tripped over a root sticking up out of the ground near the trees they were walking by, even her own pupils were attentive enough to know something was wrong.

After trying to help Sakura up, Kenshi asked, "Are you sure, sensei? Something seems… off."

"I'm fine!" Sakura snapped, and they cringed. Instantly her face softened, and she looked away. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Go home, I'll take care of the report."

"But—" Kenshi began but was cut off by Sakura.

"I said go home!" she shot them a look that told them she meant business.

They scampered away with the exception of Akira, who walked with his arms folded over his chest.

xXx

--Two Days previously, right after Sakura was brought back--

"Tsunade-sama," Neji breathed, kneeling in the blonde's office. Tsunade stood immediately, face scrunched in concern and anxiety.

"Well?"

"…Sakura has been brought back," he answered, slowly getting to his feet. "And.."

Tsunade waited, biting her lip.

".. Sabaku no Gaara is alive, she was with him when we retrieved her." Neji answered sadly, looking down.

Tsunade's eyes widened. Finally, she said, "…Are you.. sure? You saw him..?"

"I wouldn't lie!" Neji snapped, then calmed. ".. She was in his arms. The odd thing was.. He just let her go."

Tsunade furrowed her brows. "..He really has changed.." she murmured, looking up at the ceiling.

"Sakura is in the hospital now, we've been back for about half an hour.." Neji answered quietly before turning to leave.

"Neji." Tsunade said sternly, and he stopped, not turning back. "..Why didn't you retrieve Gaara as well?"

Neji bowed his head slightly, before answering, "I think you know why."

Tsunade looked down, frowning. "I think I know why too."

xXx

He couldn't get her out of his head. Everything, everyone he saw was her, her body, hair face. Every sound was the sweet sound of her sighs and moans, and even more beautiful, her laughter. Every cold breeze that brushed along his skin was the touch of her hands, pleasing him into oblivion. He could've sworn he was going insane. Everything, everything was her. Nothing could escape her. She wouldn't leave his mind, and until he had her again he feared she wasn't going to leave.

In his roaming of Mist and the surrounding, he had a strange desire. And it wouldn't leave him alone until he satisfied it. Therefore, he began a long journey, making sure he was prepared with everything he was going to need. And so, he set off from Mist.

Days he travelled, stopping only for food or bathing. He met few people, and hid himself from them; for if anyone saw him, he might be hunted and captured, for some reason. However, he soon brought himself to his destination, and stood over the barren wreck, looking down upon it. He saw bones, rubble, and the memories came to him. Shinobi dying, villagers screaming, buildings falling in, beasts and monsters rampaging, taking every life in sight. It brought tears to his eyes, and they littered the wasted ground under his feet.

"My village.." he rasped, falling to his knees. "…Gone.."

xXx

It was the dead of night. Not a soul in the village stirred, except one. She was busy packing supplies in a travel-light pack, getting full ANBU gear on. Since Neji wasn't staying with her anymore, she didn't feel the need to be dead silent; she hurried as fast as she could, however, in hopes no one would wake in her presence.

"Gaara," was the only thing she whispered as she headed on her window. Silent and cautious, she leaped atop buildings, footsteps light as air. Soon she was at the front gates, and she turned, looking back on the village. A single tear came to her eye behind her mask, and she fled into the night, unaware of the gate watchers carefully keeping an eye on her.

"Wasn't that Sakura?" One whispered.

"Yeah," the other one replied. "She doesn't have a mission does she?"

"Well why else would she be leaving?" the first one gave the second a look.

xXx

The wind swept her shoulder-length hair up behind her, and she leaped through the trees at an almost in-human pace towards Mist. _'I have to see him,' _was her only thought, and it carried her through the night. Singing softly to herself along the way,her head remained clear on her one objective: seeing Gaara, and not leaving him again.

She wanted him; she _needed _him.

If he died... She didn't know what she would do, how she could live. She _wouldn't _be able to live. He was her antidote; the thought of him made life worth living. But she needed more, wanted more. She wanted him. His smile, his face, his soft lips, his perfect body, his comfort and love… His touch drove her wild, his kisses made her melt, and that night they shared was the best of her life. She could never forget it, she didn't want to forget it. She'd given her most precious jewel to him, and he handled it with care.

She shivered, thinking of his hands roaming her, his fingers gentle and pleasing. She thought of his soft, oh-so kissable lips and licked her own lips, craving their sweet taste. She thought of his rugged male scent and her hands clenched into fists, in need. She closed her eyes as she leaped along, becoming swamped in him.

xXx

He'd fallen asleep on that spot overlooking the ruins of Suna, and stayed there for almost a whole day. When he'd finally woken up, he continued to stare at his ruined village for another half an hour. Only then did his mind waver from Sakura's face. He finally shook his head and left, heading for Mist.

He'd decided that Mist was probably where he was going to stay, at least for a while. And as he made his way back to the Mist village, leaping from tree to tree, he tried thing after thing to rid his mind of Sakura and the ruined village he once called home. Finally, he settled upon singing, hoping it'd distract him.

"Holding on is harder than it seems.. When you're reaching for, so much more," he grunted. "It seems so much easier to just give in.. When you're reaching for, so much more.."

And he sang quietly to himself, temporarily getting his mind off the woman and nights they shared. He loved the memories.. But they were painful, knowing he could never have them again. Have _her _again.

And when he got to Mist, he rented another hotel room and laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling blankly. He continued singing, never stopping once. He'd lost count of how many songs he'd sung. He tried to close his eyes, to rest, but it never came, his memories trying to stir up beneath his singing voice to keep him awake.

"Damnit!" he cursed, sitting up abruptly. "Why can't I get my mind off her?! Am I obsessed?!"

'_**Maybe so.'**_

"Oh shit, not you again.."

'_**Oh yes, it's me.'**_

"…Fuck."

(A/N: Okayyyy. / So, is it terribly terrible? Hey, at least Sakura's goin' after him, right? xD I mean come on. I love you all, ciao. R and R, please my lovely darlings. –Hearts-)


	10. Chapter 9

Tracks to Listen to:

"Won't Back Down," by Fuel.

"You Are The One," by Shiny Toy Guns.

"Wine Red," by The Hush Sound.

**Hm.. So, what'll happen? Sorry I haven't updated in so long, mother's putting restrictions on the computer.**

**Well, enjoy. D:**

xXx

By morning, Sakura had travelled through at least 3 small villages on her way to Mist. She searched them through and through, and found no sign of the man she needed so much.

Finally, she got to Mist, by early morning. Her feet slightly stirred the Mist hanging just over the ground, her movements being swift. Her green eyes shifted from left to right as she hung over the village, in a tall tree. One hand gripped the trunk, as she leaned slightly to search the bare streets for that cloak, anything recognizable.

'_Not outside,' _she sighed, before turning her face up the sky, a single tear spilling from her eye. _'Gaara.. Please hear me…'_

A pair of eyes jolted open wide.

His heart pulsed. He clutched it, groaning and sitting up.

Two hearts connected. The molded into one, evenly beating heart. Their breathing became the same, ragged, confused. Sakura furrowed her brows, falling to one knee and clutching her chest.

'_What is this?!' _her mind screamed in confusion, and her eyes widened when she heard a faint whisper in her head.

'_Sakura,' _the gentle voice called, and she reached out to nothing in particular, croaking.

'_G-Gaara, where are you?'_

'_Where I was before,' _the voice replied calmly, and her eyes widened.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

He jerked up out of bed, before grabbing his old uniform. The one he wore into battle as Kazekage, with the leather vest and long coat-tail. With the little money he'd earned working odd jobs, he went to an underground, undisclosed tailor and had it re-made. The tailor was paid extra to keep the project and Gaara himself under wraps.

He gripped the cloth in his hands tightly, and decided that since it was so early in the morning, not many would be up.

After getting the uniform on, Gaara closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, forming four seals. A pulse waved over the village, stopping at the edges. The genjutsu he cast made it so that every native of the village that looked at him thought he was a stray dog.

'_Sakura, I'm coming.' _He thought to himself, when he heard a small voice reply,

'_I'm already here..'_

Gaara looked out the window, before stepping out of it and standing on the roof of the hotel.

Sakura was among the streets, dashing around and looking for that familiar cloak. She glanced at the sky, and her eyes widened when she noticed something on the roof.

Her head slowly turned, green eyes wide. The sun shining down from behind him made his appearance on the roof look holy, and as if the wind knew exactly what to do, it blew from the left to the right gently, making his long coat tail flutter to the right. His hair swayed gently, the red locks ruffling. Sakura's own pink hair swayed, and she gaped slightly up at him.

Her heart fluttered at the sight, and she was one hundred percent sure that anyone who saw him right then would have fallen in love at first sight.

..But she was already in love, and her stomach filled with butterflies. She knew he saw her, too; he was looking right at her.

And the gesture he did next made her eyes water.

He slowly held out his hand to her, palm outstretched, beckoning.

Eyes squinting with tears, she reached out to him, taking a step forward.

"Not so fast," someone stepped on her foot from behind, and she yelped. The man grabbed her roughly, and she saw from his Hatai Ate (headband) that he was Konoha nin.

'_They sent for me,' _Sakura thought hopelessly, and struggled the best she could.

In a flurry of sand, Gaara was before them. His strong fist knocked both nin out, and he growled angrily when he spotted more coming from the forest. Quickly he swept Sakura off her feet, and leaped into the trees. Going as fast as his chakra-infused leaps could take him, he glanced behind him and noticed that the nin were following soon behind.

Sakura buried her face in his chest, taking in his familiar scent and shivering. The shiver brought his arms about her tighter, more securely, and he held her to him more closely.

'_I love you, Sakura.' _He thought, frowning.

He suddenly felt her heartbeat, and realized: They beat as one. His heart beat in unison with Sakura's, and when his heart jerked, so did hers. Their breathing was evenly matched, and he smiled grimly.

'_We are one.'_

xXx

"DAMNIT!" Tsunade send a fist slamming down on her desk. The wood snapped in half, sending everything on her desk to the floor. "Get her BACK! Send ANBU if needed! Get.. Sakura.."

".. BACK!"

Shizune's eyes widened in fear; she'd never seen such a look on Tsunade's face. "H-Hai..!" she squeaked, and rushed out the door.

Tsunade sat in her chair, tears filling her eyes. "We should have let Gaara come back.." she whispered. ".. But the villagers would reject him."

'_..Are you so sure?' _her mind whispered.

She put her face in her hands. "I-I don't know," she replied wearily.

"SHIZUNE!" she yelled.

Tsunade heard footsteps coming up, and Shizune soon opened the door.

"New orders, Shizune," Tsunade growled.

"…Bring them _both _back."

xXx

After quite a few turns and tricks made by the red-head, he and Sakura were soon far away from the Konoha Jonin. He landed on his feet in a secluded clearing, gently setting her on her feet. He stood before her, gazing down at her. The cold breeze swayed their hair gently, and she looked up at him with a small smile.

A small hand slowly reached up, and touched his cheek. He closed his eyes, a small smile crossing his lips. Instead of an animal desire rushing throughout him, it was the shyness of a schoolboy that overcame him. Sakura's other hand reached out, and she grabbed his face gently. She pulled it down, whispering, "Open your eyes."

He popped them open, breath coming out slightly shaky. After two years.. she still had a way of making him nervous. She brushed their foreheads together, smiling at him. His eyes were half-lidded, and a small, almost childish smile crossed his face.

"I love you." She said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. His arms looped around her waist, bringing her closer.

"I love you, Sakura." He replied, nuzzling his face against hers. He closed his eyes, feeling relaxed. She moved her face to place her lips on his, and he drew her closer into the kiss. Her eyes closed, and her hands slowly went from his cheeks up into his hair. Her fingers gripped the red strands gently, and he slowly pulled away.

Her eyes slowly changed from happy, to uncertain. ".. What do we do?"

"Well," Gaara grunted, "..I don't want to leave you. That is certain.."

"..Well.. Should we stay here..? Go to another village..? Or just become.. Rogues?" Gaara could see the fear flashing in her eyes, and closed his eyes.

".. You don't want to leave Konoha."

Sakura's eyes watered, and she shook her head. "No no, I'd do anything for you.."

Gaara gripped her shoulders tighter, frowning at her. "Sakura."

She looked up at him.

Gaara sighed lightly, before saying, "You can't leave the village.. And you can't keep escaping to come see me.."

Her eyes widened slightly. ".. What are you saying?"

Gaara bowed his head, closing his eyes in pain. "It hurts me so much, but.. Maybe we shouldn't.."

Her eyes widened more. "You're… Rejecting me again.." She jerked out of his arms.

"No, Sakura!" he called, trying to grab her again. She jerked away, running in tears. He began chasing after her. "Sakura!!"

Not seeing where she was going, she knocked into something hard, yelping. Two arms grabbed her, the man saying, "Gotcha."

She looked up to see a Konoha ANBU, gripping her tightly. Gaara immediately froze when he saw them, and turned to head back, but was grabbed by five ANBU and held tightly.

"We're taking you both back to Konoha," the ANBU said smoothly. "Hokage's orders."

"BOTH of us?!" Sakura cried, gaping at him.

The only reply Sakura received was a nod as they were carried away, through the deep woods.

(A/N: UH-OH. How will people react to seeing Gaara, hm..? What will the villagers think? Say? What about the shinobi? Hm..? Find out next chapter!)


	11. Chapter 10

Tracks to Listen to:

"Cry Little Sister," by Aiden.

"Addicted," by Saving Abel.

"Zombie," by The Cranberries.

**Fufufu... Sorry I haven't been posting. My mother grounded me from the computer, and only let me have it for a while today. So hopefully I'll get this chapter in. I'm still grounded, so it'll be a while posting chapters, so I apologize for that.**

**Anyways, enjoy. D:**

xXx

It was the dead of night when the pair was taken into the village. Silently and gracefully the nin swept through the trees, hair fluttering in the wind created by their lightning pace. Gaara and Sakura were carried, and both were unconscious, unaware as to what was going on around them. The ANBU swiftly leaped over the front gate with ease, and carried on over the rooftops of the village. Soon, they appeared on the sill of the Hokage's Tower, and knocked on the window.

Tsunade jerked awake, lifting her head from her desk, and discreetly wiped the drool from her lower lip before getting up and approaching the five-foot tall windows. She opened them and the ANBU jumped in, and laid the two captives on the floor.

Tsunade's eyes saddened immediately as she saw the man on the floor; his face was thin-looking, though his jaw was still strong and manly. He had lost weight; anyone could tell by his even slimmer figure. What she found off was that he was wearing the exact outfit he'd worn the day of the battle; only it had no tears, no rips, and no hole in the chest area. _'He must've gotten it re-made,' _she thought.

She knelt, and placed her hands on both chests. Her eyes widened immediately, and a shiver ran up her spine as she felt their heartbeats. There was nothing strange about them, except...

.. They beat as one.

She removed her hands, and rested them on her knees as she squatted before them.

_'Their hearts don't only beat as one..' _she thought. _'... They _are _one.'_

xXx

Her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was quite blurry; she couldn't focus on anything. All she knew was that it was semi-bright, and she heard.. voices. Hushed, urgent-sounding. Female and male voices both.

Her hand moved slightly, and it touched flesh. It was another hand, she soon found. She didn't have to turn her head and look to know who's it was. Her hand felt a bit more, before grabbing the other hand gently, fingers lacing together. It reminded her of that night they went walking in Suna, travelling through the streets. An old woman had stopped them, she'd remembered. The old bat started babbling about how they should act like a couple, and locked their hands together.

And as senile as the old woman seemed.. she was thankful she did what she did.

And though they were probably facing banishment from the village, or something equally disastrous, Sakura felt happier than she had in a long time.

xXx

Tsunade turned back around to look at the two laying on the floor, interrupting her talk with the ANBU captain, and blinked at them. Something was different. After a moment, she noticed that their hands were locked together, fingers interlaced.

She approached them, and lifted Sakura's eyelids open. She was asleep. She did the same with Gaara's black-riimed eyelids. He was asleep as well.

Well then, how did their hands get that way? Tsunade didn't believe in soulmates, and she certainly didn't believe two people could become one person, but.. it seemed as if these two people had bonded in a way no ordinary humans could. Their hands linked together unconsciously, as if the two limbs themselves had spirits that couldn't stay apart, and their hearts beat as one, the two organs beating in the same rhythm.

Tsunade shook her head, tears filling her eyes. Knowing she couldn't stop them, she pointed towards the windows, and ordered one word: "Out."

The ANBU nodded, and immediately they left, closing the window behind them.

Knowing they were unconscious, Tsunade then collapsed on Gaara's chest, bawling her eyes out. The two had reminded her of Jiraiya and herself; Tsunade had hoped that one day her and the white-haired man could have such a bond.

But he was no longer a part of the world, and it made her cry all the harder. Finally, after a long silence, she slowly lifted her face from Gaara's chest, looking at Sakura.

"You're so lucky," she whispered, tears staining her cheeks. "You have something.. I could never have."

Tsunade slowly got to her feet, wiping her eyes and sniffling. This was when Sakura's eyes fluttered open again, and her hazy green gaze fell upon her teacher.

"Sh-shi.. shou?" she whispered, throat dry. Her hand kept Gaara's hand tightly in its grip.

"Sakura," Tsunade looked down at her, smiling softly. "Welcome back."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, and she slowly sat up, looking around. She then looked down at Gaara, and her face instantly mellowed, cheeks becoming a rosy pink. This made Tsunade smile a bit more, and her heart went out to the kunoichi. Although it was a rule of the shinobi not to let emotion show, almost every shinobi had broken that rule, and Tsunade herself was no exception. She was disappointed in Sakura for choosing love over her village, but if Gaara was her source of life, the woman couldn't blame her. Sakura was a shinobi, but she was also a human, with emotions, and Tsunade couldn't hold against her anything she did. She might've made a few poor choices, but she was young, naive.

Tsunade was young once, too.

"Sh-Shishou," Sakura said as she made sure the red-head beside her was alright. His own eyes fluttered open at her touch, and they widened as soon as he realized where he was. Immediately, he got to his feet, and tried to escape. Sakura grabbed him and pulled him to her, holding him tightly.

"It's okay," she whispered, hugging him tightly. "Stay.. Stay with me.."

His shoulders visibly slumped, as if he were giving in to something. Tsunade blinked, shocked. _'Just like that.. she calmed him, and got him to stay, even though he faces certain rejection from his villagers.' _she thought.

"Sakura," Tsunade said, and Sakura slowly released Gaara, to turn around with him. Tsunade looked at them both, and as the pink-headed woman leaned into her lover, the Hokage couldn't help but notice how their bodies fit together to perfectly. _'Almost like pieces of a puzzle,' _she thought, smiling a bit.

"Sakura, you're free to go to your home, but I'm afraid an ANBU captain will have to escort you so that you won't try to make an escape." Tsunade said. Sakura looked down, but nodded nonetheless, and gripped Gaara tighter. As if on cue, an ANBU captain opened the window and hopped in, standing at attention. Sakura noticed the deer mask, and said, "Shikamaru?"

"Oh, and I was hoping you wouldn't figure it out.." he mumbled from behind the mask. ".. How troublesome."

"You know what to do, Shikamaru." Tsunade said, and the ANBU nodded, before grabbing Sakura's hand gently. He put a cuff around it, and the other cuff went around Gaara's wrist.

They then set off.

xXx

When they got to Sakura's apartment, Shikamaru opened the door, and ushered them inside.

"I'm supposed to keep watch over you two tonight," he said, taking his ANBU mask off. "To make sure you don't go anywhere. Now, I understand you two are.. lovers and all, but please, I don't want to hear _anything."_

Sakura's face turned a bright red, and Gaara's face flushed, turning abnormally pale. Seeing the looks on their faces, Shikamaru supressed a chuckle. "Goodnight, you two. Be expected to get up bright and early."

The looks still plastered on their faces, they slowly nodded, before turning and walking up the stairs, towards the bedroom. They didn't say anything; they only kept their fingers laced, hands locked together. Soon, they reached the bedroom, and avoiding gazes, they moved for opposite sides of the room. They were soon jerked back against each other by the handcuffs that the ANBU downstairs had forgotten to take off. Gaara growled, and yanked on it, and Sakura yelped, falling on the floor.

"Ow, what was that for??" she grouched, glaring at him. He looked away, and she stood, face calming. She looked down, and finally, they slowly approached the large bed in the center of the room. Gaara sat on the edge, and Sakura sat beside him. She climbed to the right side of the bed, and he settled on the left, backs turned to one another. This turned their arms in odd, not to mention uncomfortable ways. Sakura turned around to untangle her arm, and at the same moment Gaara decided to do the same. The ended up turning to face each other, and the sudden close proximity of their faces made Sakura blush intensely, before looking away.

She tried to position herself in a half-turn away from him, but it didn't work. She turned back towards him, trying to get comfortable. Eyes closing, she finally was slightly comfortable.

Her eyes popped open when his free arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him tightly. Her cuffed hand touched his, and he held her hand gently, before turning his head to place a small, tender kiss on her fingers. She blushed, looking up at him in surprise. The sliver of moonlight drifting through the windows fell upon his blood-red hair, highlighting a fraction of his face. He looked like a god, and the thought of him made her shiver all over.

Feeling her shivering, he asked her if she was cold, in a quiet voice.

"N-No," she replied breathlessly, biting her lip. "J-Just.. thinking about you,"

It was his turn to turn red. "Sakura," he mumbled, before claiming her lips. She pushed against him, her free hand slipping up under his shirt to brush along his chest. She "mmph"ed against his lips, squeezing her eyes shut as she pulled herself closer to him, a leg winding around his waist.

His lips turned from passionate to gentle, and it calmed her as well, turning her from needy to sleep in seconds. She slowly pulled away from him, smiling lightly and looking at him through half-lidded eyes.

"I love you, Gaara," was the last thing she whispered before falling into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 11

Tracks to Listen to:

"Never Too Late," by Three Days Grace.

"Wonderwall," by Oasis.

"When You Love Someone," by Bryan Adams (Hope Floats Soundtrack).

**Okay, so what's up people?! I'm finally updating. Sorry about the ever-longer wait. I'm still grounded, dunno when I'll get un-grounded, but I'm anxiously awaiting that day. Anyways, since I've got a little bit of time on here, I'm updating as best I can.**

**Enjoy. D:**

xXx

_Sakura blossoms fell around them, as they stood under a grove of pink-flowered trees. The sun shone gently on them, lighting up their faces, more than they already were. She smiled brightly up at him, and he gave her a soft smile in return. He felt content, happy; if he were to die right then, he wouldn't have been disappointed, except for the fact he would have had to leave her._

_"I love you," she whispered, and his heart jumped._

_He couldn't get enough of her, he decided. He remembered back to when he'd first met her. He'd had no opinion of her; only that he knew she was weak.. so, so weak._

_Or so he thought. He remembered he thought an angel had fallen from heaven when he first saw her; after all those years. He blinked, ridding himself of thought and focusing his attention on her—her beautiful face, her bright, emerald eyes, her soft, pink hair—and he was home. Completely, totally at peace with the world._

_He'd never felt like this before. Never, in his life._

_He felt so good, so _happy...

He woke up, eyes popping open. It was a dream, he realized.

.. But this dream was real. _She _was real. And she was right there in his arms, fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her by moving, he turned his head and strained his eyes to look out the window. He saw the sun beginning to drift up slowly over the peaks of the Hokage stone faces, casting small rays of light over the village. It looked rather peaceful, and it brought a sting to his eye, tears threatening to brim. It reminded him of Suna, the way it always looks so tranquil, and content.

He blinked the tears back, and Sakura stirred in his arms. ".. Ugh.. What time is it?" she mumbled, burying her face in his chest. Resting his chin atop her head of pink hair, he glanced at the clock.

"6:30," he replied softly, running his hand through her hair soothingly.

She stirred again, before sitting up slowly, rubbing her head with her free hand. She looked grumpy, and Gaara could tell she was not a morning person. She rubbed her eyes, rather childishly, and he smiled, sitting up as well and looking at her. She looked at him after rubbing her eyes, and smiled softly, asking, "You ready?"

He looked down, face falling a bit. "Not really, but it's inevitable.."

As if he'd been waiting for them to finish talking, Shikamaru then opened the door, saying, "Rise an— Oh, you're up."

They blinked, looking at him. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, uhh.. Let's get going. Hokage-sama wants you in her office, right away."

The pair nodded, and the three set off. Knowing that the time wasn't right for Gaara to be revealed to the village, they took to the rooftops, getting to the Hokage's office in thirty seconds flat. Shikamaru tapped on the window, before sliding it open, hopping nimbly in. Gaara and Sakura followed after, and the three stood before a drunken and passed out Tsunade.

Shikamaru coughed, clearing his throat. "Hokage-sama." He said quietly.

She did not stir.

"SHISHOU!" Sakura yelled.

Tsunade jerked up with a yelp, a paper stuck to her face. She looked around wildly, yelling, "Who? What? Where?!"

Shikamaru slowly reached out, pulling the paper from her face. There was ink imprints from it, staining her cheek. She calmed, seeing it was only them. "Oh, Shikamaru. Ohayo."

"Ohayo, Hokage-sama," he replied quietly, bowing respectfully. "They are here as requested." He then moved Sakura and Gaara in front of him, and Gaara's cuffed right hand grabbed Sakura's cuffed left anxiously.

"I don't know what to do with you two," Tsunade said truthfully, leaning her elbows on her desk and resting her chin atop the backs of her hands, frowning. "I don't know how to reveal you to the villagers. Gaara, especially. I don't know whether they would welcome you back, or.. reject you." She looked sadly at him.

"Shishou, we—"

"We can't keep him hidden away, someone will eventually find out, I know it.." Tsunade cut in. "And you two are NOT leaving this village. Under any circumstances."

Sakura squeezed Gaara's hand consolingly; she knew how fast his heart was pounding at the moment, for hers was doing the same thing, beating wildly within her chest.

"May I suggest something, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru raised a hand tentatively.

"Yes; go ahead, Shikamaru." Tsunade nodded, listening.

"I was thinking about just letting him go into the village; I mean, whatever way you choose to go about this, the villagers are going to see him, so why not just show them? We should keep Sakura with him, of course, maybe that would help with the rejection, if he faces that." Shikamaru said, before quieting.

Tsunade contemplated his theory. After what seemed like a long while, she looked up from her desk, brown eyes shifting in between the three standing before her. After taking her time looking them over, she finally murmured, "We'll do it."

Sakura felt Gaara's heart flutter; whether from nervousness or happiness should couldn't really tell, but she suspected it was the former. She gave his hand a small, comforting squeeze, and his heart settled a bit. Sakura thought it extremely odd that their hearts beat in sync with one another like they did; but in a way, she found it comforting. "When?" she suddenly asked, and Tsunade looked at her.

"Today, Sakura. Now." She replied, and Sakura and Gaara gulped at the same time.

Questions ran at incredible speed through their minds; they were fraught with worry. _'What would the villagers say? What would they think? Would they reject us? Respect us? Be happy? Angry?'_

"I know you probably are both thinking of all the reactions that could come from this." Tsunade said calmly. "But you'll have to do it; if they reject you, you'll just have to keep to yourselves. If they accept you.. Well, either way, you're staying here. The council and I have been debating on the reconstruction of Suna—" Gaara's eyes widened at this. "—But we're still unsure as to whether we're going to begin such a project. Most of Suna's villagers and shinobi reside here now, but it's still quite obvious that they're keeping Suna's traditions and customs as their own. The shinobi even still wear Suna's symbol, though they've been shinobi for Konoha for over two years."

"So what shall we do?" Shikamaru asked, piping in.

"Well, since there aren't many people out, maybe now would be the best time." Tsunade suggested. "If they reject him, they'll probably ignore him, or at the worst throw something. But if they accept, they might.. Call others out to see him? Who knows."

".. What about Temari? And Kankuro?" Gaara blurted.

"They're both fine; they've been having a time raising this boy. Came with them from Suna."

Gaara's eyes widened. _'T-Tamru…!'_

"What did this boy look like?" Sakura asked, obviously remembering the boy as well.

"Wild, unruly black hair. Uhm, looks about 11, now. About time for him to go into the academy. Temari's trained him, he'll pass with flying colors."

"Tamru.." Gaara muttered, looking down.

"You know this boy, I'm assuming?" Tsunade looked at him curiously.

"Hai.." the red-head whispered. "He was a boy I had taken to train myself.. But… I neglected him.. with the village, and Sakura, I didn't really have time for him, like I needed."

"I see.. Well, you should be able to see him.." Tsunade said, nodding a bit. "I know that Temari, Kankuro, and this boy will accept you no matter what."

Gaara and Sakura nodded, locked hands gripping tighter.

"Ready?" Tsunade looked at them both. They nodded silently, gulping.

"Good luck, I wish you the best." Tsunade nodded again, and they both left the room, this time by the door and not the window. As they left, Gaara looked out the window, and saw a few villagers traipsing the street, going about their business. What looked like a villager from his own country made his stomach flutter nervously. Sakura squeezed his hand gently, recognizing the erratic beating of his heart.

"Hey," she whispered as they descended the stairs. "It's gonna be fine. Even if they reject you.. you'll always have me, I promise."

They reached the door, and Gaara paused, looking at it nervously. He'd grown to care deeply for Suna, and to reject the village like he did.. was unforgivable in his eyes. He looked down shame was written all over his face. He looked up when a hand touched his cheek. He saw Sakura's bright green eyes shining up at him, and a small smile on his face. "Stand tall. The villagers have someone to be proud of."

His heart jumped, and goosebumps littered his arms and the back of his neck. He slowly nodded, and she gripped his hand again, hand going to the handle on the door.

He felt ready as he ever could. He stood tall, looking straight ahead. _'Act casual,' _he thought, and he nodded. Sakura opened the door and light flooded into the dark stairwell, blinding and illuminating them. After letting his eyes adjust, he took the first step out the door. Sakura joined him, staying close by his side, as if offering her support. He felt grateful; grateful that she would be there no matter what. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she returned it.

They began walking casually down the dirt road; no one had noticed them yet. Gaara's heart still beat nervously; although he was ready for it, he still couldn't help thinking about the reactions that may come.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Tsunade watched anxiously from the windows in her office, keeping her gaze locked on them, hoping, waiting. Her heart fluttered in her chest, hoping something good would come out of his appearance.

They walked out a bit further, trying not to look around anxiously. They got about mid-way down the street, when someone spotted them. The old woman hobbled up to them, stopping in front of them. Sakura noticed her as the old woman that they'd encountered over two years ago, in the streets of Suna. The crazy one, who'd made them hold hands, and bonked them on their heads with her cane. The old woman still held the same cane in her hands.

"I remember you," she pointed at Gaara, her shrewd gaze falling over him, before switching to Sakura, finger switching with her. "And you, too."

She then looked down at their hands which were securely locked together, fingers laced. She let a bright, toothless smile grace her worn face. "Looks like you two learned your lesson."

Sakura's eye twitched. She hadn't hoped for rejection or anything, but she hadn't quite expected a reaction like _this. _Apparently Gaara was thinking the same thing, because he had the same expression on his face. It was about then that someone else noticed the pair, and the old woman, and stared at Gaara, gaping.

Gaara noticed the woman, standing a few yards away behind the old woman, and stared back. She was a Suna villager, he could tell. He could also tell she knew who he was.

It was only after a few moments that she broke her gaze away from him.

"… IT'S THE KAZEKAGEEEEE!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice ringing throughout the village. "THE KAZEKAGEEE!! HE'S COME BAAAACK!! THE KAZEKAGE IS ALIVE!!"

The woman ran to him, and threw herself at his feet, in tears. She hugged his legs, blubbering like a baby. Gaara looked down at her, flabbergasted. He then looked up, and noticed hundreds of windows opening all around him, and people looking out curiously. As each person looked out the window, sleepy and probably agitated at the fact someone was screaming completely ludacris things, their heads turned to look.

One person caught sight of him, standing with Sakura and the old woman, with another woman at his feet. Then another. Then another.

People began rushing out of their houses, and many reached out for him. Hundreds crowded around him, smiling brightly. Many were sobbing, and some remained quiet. Gaara's heart leaped in his chest, at the sight of all the loving and admiring gazes cast at him. Sakura kept on his arm, smiling at everyone. In the midst of the crowds of people, Gaara caught sight of three people pushing their way through, a shorter person in the middle. Soon, they got out of the crowd. The shortest one popped out first, and Gaara recognized him immediately.

"GAARA-SENSEIII!" Tamru squealed, and ran into his arms, clinging to him. Gaara grunted, but smiled, hugging the boy's small form back gently. Sakura had kneeled with him, their hands still being cuffed. However, Gaara included Sakura in the hug. After releasing Tamru, he looked up, and saw Temari and Kankuro standing there, staring at him. Both's eyes were teary, and Gaara only stared at them for a moment.

In a flash, all three were in a tight group hug, Temari blubbering on Gaara's shoulder. "I-I'm so sorry, Gaara," she choked, hugging him tighter. "I never meant to—"

"Don't worry about it." He cut her off quietly, hugging her back. Thinking of Sakura, he said, "You were forgiven the moment it happened."

This made her cry harder and they rocked back and forth, hugging. Kankuro joined back into the hug, and whispered, "We missed you, we thought you were dead.."

"Everyone did, I think," Gaara replied softly, "..Except Sakura."

Gaara pulled Sakura into the hug, and all four kept to each other for a few moments. After being released, everyone still watching, some crying, Gaara grabbed Sakura, pulling her close.

"And without you," he whispered, smiling down at her, "I wouldn't be alive."

He then claimed her lips, and the crowd of villagers and shinobi, Sand and Leaf alike, cheered wildly.

xXx

Above them all, Tsunade's eyes watered. Smiling brightly, she called loudly, "Sh… Shizune!!"

The raven-headed woman and Shikamaru both barged into the room, and came to the window. "Wh-What is it, Lady Tsu—" she was cut off by Tsunade's arms about her in a tight, bone-crushing hug.

Realizing the lady was crying, Shizune choked, "Wh-What is it Lady Tsunade??"

Tsunade only pulled Shikamaru into the hug, crying, "IT WORKED! He's accepted, he's accepted!!"

Hearing this, bright smiles crossed both nin's faces.

xXx

After releasing Sakura, Gaara looked around at all the people around him, all their smiling, shining faces.

He'd never been so happy in his life. Not even with Sakura alone.

A few village children came out from the crowd, looking at him shyly. He bent down, squatting and peering at him. The gentle look on his face made them come closer, and he reached out, putting his hands on their heads and ruffling their hair. The children giggled, and one said, "Kazekage-sama, we're gwad you came back."

"So am I," he replied softly, and the children hugged him tightly, clinging to him. He patted their backs, closing his eyes. He liked the love of a child; it made his heart feel warm and fuzzy. He liked the feeling. After a moment, he slowly released them, standing tall again. Sakura at his side, he swooped Tamru up in his arms, before placing the boy on his strong shoulders. The boy laughed, hands resting in Gaara's blood-red hair, fisting it lightly.

He then began to make his way through the villagers, slowly, and let them reach out and touch him as he walked by. He spread his arms, to touch the hands of his villagers, and at the moment, he felt a spark zip up through his arms and down the rest of his body. He felt a deep connection with the people, as if they were all family. One big, happy family.

xXx

That night, back at Sakura's apartment, Gaara smiled as he laid in the bed, her cradled in his arms. "I think today was probably the best day of my life," he whispered, looking at the ceiling.

"As long as you're happy, I am." She replied softly, nuzzling him.

"I'll always be happy, with you." he rubbed her arm gently.

"I love you, Gaara."

"I love you too, Sakura."

(A/N: Okay, so do I end it here? Or..? What? I like this ending, but if you want me to go on, I might be able to squeeze out a few more chapters before the Epilogue. ;D Love you all, thanks for the reviews!!)


	13. Chapter 12

Tracks to Listen to:

"God Blessed the Broken Road," by Rascal Flatts.

"When I Get Where I'm Goin'," by Brad Paisley.

**This is probably the end of the sequel, folks. However, I have decided to do a little something after this that keeps connected to this story. It'll be called, "Sakura's Scrapbook," and it'll be taking place way after the ending of this story. It'll be just a bunch of memories, it should but cute though. I'd check it out. ;D**

**Another thing I have an idea for, but I'm not sure if I'll do it: An adventure concerning Sakura's team. Like, a bunch of missions and things, and it's centered on Kenshi, Sasaki, Akira, and Sakura.**

**What do you think? Should I do it? No?**

**And this is the final chapter, there will be an epilogue after this.**

**Thank you all for reading, I love you guys. Without readers, what would be the point in writing?**

xXx

"SAKURA-SENSEEIIIIIII!! YOU'RE BAAACK!" a loud, overly annoying male voice called out, and Sakura chuckled, shaking her head. She turned around to see Kenshi run up to her, Sasaki and Akira in tow. Both had rather agitated looks on their faces, and it was all quite comical. Sakura laughed, and said to Akira, "You look rather agitated. Something wroooong?"

Akira grunted and rolled his eyes, and Sakura chuckled, Kenshi joining her. "Come on you two, lighten up!" Kenshi urged.

Sasaki only folded her arms over her chest, muttering, "Dobe," and averted her eyes from them. Sakura chuckled a bit more, looking them all over. The three hadn't changed much, overall; Sasaki's outfit was a bit darker, and Kenshi had gotten his hair cut. More like a trim, Sakura noticed. It wasn't much shorter than before.

As Sakura conversed with her students (mostly Kenshi), someone came up behind her, looping arms about her waist. She giggled, and turned around to see Gaara smiling gently down at her. She turned back to her students, and said, "Guys, this is Gaara. Kazekage of Suna."

At this, even Sasaki's eyes widened. "Woah, woah woah!" she cried. "Weren't you supposed to be dead?! I remember Iruka-sensei mentioning it!"

Gaara ran a hand through his messy red hair, before answering, "I was never dead. Close, but not dead."

"So you came back, huh?" Akira asked, in his usual quiet, haughty voice. Gaara nodded, still keeping Sakura at his side by means of arm around her waist. The students snickered a bit, and Sakura said, "Sorry about my long absence guys. Who'd they get to replace me?"

"Lee-sensei," Sasaki groaned, and Kenshi snickered.

"Lee-sensei was very youthful, 'tebayo," he giggled. "Although, it was NOT cool when he made us do two hundred push-ups."

Sakura and Gaara both chuckled a bit, and Gaara rested his chin on her shoulder, taking in her scent. Sweet vanilla and cherry-blossoms drifted into his nose, and he sighed contentedly.

"So, do you know from Tsunade-baachan on whether you'll be our sensei again or not?" Kenshi asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Don't wet your pants." Sakura chuckled, smiling at them all. "I haven't heard from her yet, but I'll find out today. Alright guys?"

"Hai, sensei!" Kenshi saluted, and dragged the others off.

After the trio was out of sight, the pair began walking, Gaara holding her to him. "Kenshi's got spirit, reminds me of Naruto," Sakura commented softly, smiling.

Looking around at the beautiful spring scenery about them, Gaara replied, "I was just about to say that." Glancing at Sakura, he commented, "You're beautiful."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked out him, lips slightly ajar. A small heat crept up her fair cheeks, and their pace slowed a bit. "R..Really?"

He looked at her, sea-green eyes scanning over her flawless face. "You're always beautiful," he said, before speeding up their pace a bit, but still keeping it casual. "I remember when I first met you, after all those years after the Chunin exam. When I first called you to train me in genjutsu."

"And I passed out," she commented, rather dryly. "I remember that vividly."

He chuckled a bit, before continuing. "I caught sight of you, and I thought I'd seen an angel."

Her blush worsened, and she nuzzled against him a bit as they walked. "I love you, you know."

"I know." Gaara smirked a bit at her reaction, before adding, "And I love you too, Sakura."

xXx

"So, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura stood, alone, in front of the blonde woman's desk.

"So, Sakura." the woman smiled slyly at her. Sakura returned that smile, before giggling a bit. Tsunade let out a small giggle as well, and after a minute they settled down.

"I've never seen such a success.." Tsunade commented softly. "I never heard any of the villagers utter a word about him.. And he comes back, and they go wild."

"The people must love him, then," Sakura smiled, turning her gaze to the window.

"You must love him a lot more.." Tsunade looked at Sakura intently, running her eyes over the woman. ".. To go through what you did for him."

Sakura's eyes watered a bit, but a small smile remained on her face. "I do, Tsunade-shishou, I do!" she clasped her hands together admiringly. "I love him more than anything.."

"By the way he looks at you, he feels the same way." Tsunade smiled a bit. "I'm happy for you, Sakura. I really am."

"A-Arigato Gozaimashite, shishou.." Sakura murmured, smiling brightly and wiping her eyes. "So, uhm.. What's going to be done about my team?"

"Well, let's just say Lee toughened them up a bit." Tsunade chuckled, sitting back in her chair. "I think you might ha—"

Someone knocked on the door softly, and Tsunade's eyes switched to the door. "Come in." she finally said, sitting up in her chair, straightening her shoulders.

The door slowly opened, and in came a man with long brown hair and light, pupilless eyes.

"Neji!!" Sakura yelped, and ran to him, throwing a pair of arms about his neck. She hugged him tightly, face buried in his shirt.

"S-Sakura, what are you doing?" he said, voice sounding slightly annoyed. He lifted his arms in an effort to get her off, and when she finally pulled away, he looked down into her bright green eyes, and couldn't help but smile a bit.

There was a small frown on her face, and when she whispered, "I'm so sorry," he shook his head.

"Sakura.. don't be sorry." He shook his head again, smiling softly, reassuringly. "I promise you, it was never your fault.. All I want is for you to be happy."

This made her begin blubbering as her arms wrapped around his waist, clinging to him again. He sighed, patting her back. "Sakura, don't cry please.." he muttered, frowning.

She finally pulled away, a bright smile on her face. He lifted his hands and wiped her eyes with his sleeves. "And don't worry, Sakura." Said Neji. "I'll always be here for you, as a friend."

"Y-You promise?" Sakura smiled wider, eyes sparkling.

"Of course. You have my word. Anything you need, I'll always be there." Neji smiled back, hand on her head. He ruffled her hair, and she giggled a bit.

Tsunade watched the two, smiling. "Now, what I was saying about your team.." she coughed.

"Oh!" Sakura abruptly turned towards Tsunade, at attention. "Will they.. be my team again?"

"Yes, they will," Tsunade smiled knowingly at her, before adding, "Also, we've got something for you to do today. Including the team."

"A mission?" Sakura blinked.

Tsunade shook her head, smile growing a bit wider. "No, something else." At that point, Shizune came in, holding a camera.

"Team pictures!" Sakura smiled brightly, clapping her hands together.

"Come with me, Sakura-chan," Shizune motioned, smiling. Neji and Sakura followed her out, leaving Tsunade behind with a smile on her face.

xXx

"Kenshi, hold still!"

"Sasaki, would you please smile?"

"Akira, don't scowl like that! Look at the camera!!"

Instead of sighing and trying to get them all to do as they're told, Sakura only chuckled, smiling brightly and placing her hands on Kenshi and Akira's heads, who were on the outside. Sakura was behind them, Sasaki in the middle. Sakura lowered her head to rest right atop Sasaki's, and Shizune readied the camera, saying, "Say cheese, guys!!"

"CHEESE!" Kenshi yelled loud enough for all four, and the camera flashed. Shizune looked at the picture, shaking her head. Kenshi had found a way to mess it up.

"Another," Shizune said gruffly, holding the camera up.

Picture after picture, each one goofier than the last. Finally Sakura said, "Let me see it." Shizune handed her the camera, and Sakura began browsing through pictures.

Kenshi was everywhere. Her eye twitched, and she gave Kenshi a death-glare. He sweat-dropped.

"KENSHIIII!" she yelled, and his eyes widened.

"Aiyaaa!" he squeaked, and hid behind Sasaki. After that, everyone began laughing, even Sasaki. Sakura shook her head, before choosing a picture. It had Kenshi in his proper place, but he was sticking his tongue out and putting bunny ears behind Sakura's head. Sakura was smiling brightly, and Sakura could tell Sasaki was attempting a half-grin. Sakura had played her own trick she'd put bunny-ears behind Akira's head, who was glaring off to the side, arms folded over his chest.

"That one," she pointed out to Shizune, who nodded and smiled.

"We'll have them tomorrow, Sakura-chan."

"Thanks, Shizune-chan." Sakura replied, and began walking along with her team. Naruto and Temari, holding hands, sidled up to them.

"Temari-chan! Naruto!!" Sakura yelped, and hugged both blondes around their necks. They returned the hug, and Naruto lifted her off the ground, swinging her around. Sakura laughed, and when he set her down, she smiled at them both.

"I heard about you two," she smiled slyly, "But I didn't think it was true."

"It is, 'tebayo!" Naruto chuckled. "I caught me a nice one, right?"

"A very nice one." Sakura smiled, then added, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you Naruto."

At the look of horror on his face, Sakura giggled and stuck her tongue out. "Well, I have a team to take care of. I'll see you guys."

"Definitely." Temari said, winking at her. They bid farewell, and Sakura continued walking with her team.

"Hey, Sakura-sensei!" Kenshi piped up.

Sakura looked at him, blinking. "What is it, Kenshi?"

"Could you give me a piggy-back ride?"

Under normal circumstances, Sakura would have said "NO" and hit him in the head. But this time, she merely laughed and said, "Hop on."

"Really?" Kenshi asked hopefully, and at her nod, he hopped on her back, laughing. She laughed as well, before taking off. Kenshi looked back into the orange sky at his teammates. "C'mon, guys!!"

Heaving sighs, Sasaki and Akira took off after their sensei and goofy teammate. All four ran into the sunset, laughing.


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue.**

Sabaku no Gaara was now twenty-three years old. He lived in the tallest building in Konohagakure no Satou, along with his wife and baby daughter. Sakura spent her days in that building, devoting her time and effort to the raising of the baby, which the pair had named Akako, for the passionate red color of the child's hair. Sakura loved Akako more than anything in the world, and felt the child was a part of herself. The baby had Gaara's blood-red hair, and the bright inquisitive green eyes of Sakura. The child truly was beautiful.

It had been four years since the return of the red-head to Konoha. Four years since the day he was accepted. He was never happier in his life. Though he helped Tsunade with Hokage duties, since the village was practically twice the size it was before the fall of Suna, he didn't have the weight of being the Kazekage on his shoulder, like before. He really couldn't believe how much he had changed; sometimes his thoughts still wondered back to his Genin years; the Chunin exams. When Sand had made an alliance with Sound, however short-lived.

Until the baby came, Sakura spent her days with her team. The four became very devoted to each other. Sakura could've sworn, after the team completed one of their missions, that Sasaki even made an attempt at a real smile at one of Kenshi's jokes. The four had bonded in a way that Sakura couldn't bond with anyone else.

When they became Chunin, although she still led most of their missions, she missed having them around all the time. Especially Kenshi. He was her own little Naruto. And even though she still saw Naruto often, the blonde was was mature; though he still goofed around occasionally, he was normally very serious, especially when it came to missions and shinobi duties.

Naruto married Temari; Sakura had attended that wedding with her own husband. She'd also attended a rather unusual and unexpected wedding. Lee and Ino had gotten hitched. She knew she didn't spend much time with Ino anymore, but she didn't think that she was blind enough not to see it coming, at all. Though unexpected, the wedding was rather pleasant, and Sakura was immensely happy for the couple.

It also appeared that somewhere in the four years that passed since Gaara and Sakura's return to Konoha, Neji and TenTen fell in love. They got married as well, and there were four happy couples in Konoha. Sakura and Gaara was the only couple with a child, but Naruto and Temari were discussing having one.

Akako was almost a year old. Her red hair was wild and wavy, and her eyes were bright and curious, shining with the innocence of a child. Sakura fell in love with her child; the moment she found out she pregnant with the girl, her face lit up and she was absolutely ecstatic. Gaara fainted on the spot.

Through the four years that had occured, Sakura and Gaara, and everyone else in Konoha had many adventures, shared many different experiences.

And Sakura hoped dearly that many more would come.

**The End.**


End file.
